Capitol City
Capitol City
Once named “Galena City”, this deserted mining town located nine miles up the Henson Creek/Engineer Pass road was a dream of George S. Lee. His ambition was to become Colorado’s Governor and to change this tiny silver camp to the capitol city of the state of Colorado.
He built his home here with that purpose in mind in the 1870s, at the cost of a dollar a brick hauled from Pueblo, Colorado. It contained a beautiful living room, a small theater with an orchestra pit, several fine guest bedrooms and also a formal ballroom. Other than his home, he built the Henson Creek smelter and the sawmill.
Although his dreams and ambitions of governor were never realized, the name was changed to Capitol City.
The 200 acre townsite had several hotels, restaurants, saloons, smelters, a sawmill, post office, schoolhouse and several houses during the rich finds of 1877. The population was at one time 800, but as the price of silver dropped, the town began to be deserted. Litigation and transportation also aided in the downfall of Capitol City.
All that is left of the grandeur site is the Old U.S. Post Office and Lee’s Smelter Stack. The rest of the townsite has been reclaimed by aspen, mountain willows and evergreen trees.
